In a mere twelve days the world will sit down and hear what the official winners of the 2013 Newbery and Caldecott Awards officially are. Like you, I will tune in to the webcast to hear the announcements live. ALA says that the announcement will be made ” 8 a.m. PT on Jan. 28, from […]

Observe! Before your very eyes I will now beat my breast and rend my clothing (simultaneously… I’m talented like that) while wailing at a fever pitch about the books that I wish I had reviewed in 2012. You see, I give myself some pretty strict rules when it comes to reviewing. Once the second hand […]

Happy 2013, everybody! *tweet!* And that officially marks the end of all my 2012 reviews. I’ll have an appropriate regret-filled post on the matter tomorrow, but for now let’s celebrate the year! Everyone has their own little lists, and I am no exception. In case you’re curious, I did similar ones for 2010 and 2011. […]

It’s a Tiger! By David LaRochelle Illustrated by Jeremy Tankard Chronicle Books $16.99 ISBN: 978-0-8118-6925-6 Ages 4-8 On shelves now There is an art to reading a picture book but I’ve not encountered many schools that actually teach that skill. Librarians will learn it in their graduate courses, of course, but what about parents and […]

Spirit Seeker: John Coltrane’s Musical Journey By Gary Golio Illustrated by Rudy Gutierrez Clarion Books (an imprint of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt) $17.99 ISBN: 978-0-547-23994-1 Ages 6 and up On shelves now Is there any complicated hero with a past so full of darkness that their life cannot be recounted to children? This is the conundrum […]

Splendors and Glooms By Laura Amy Schlitz Candlewick Press $17.99 ISBN: 978-0-7636-5380-4 Ages 10 and up On shelves now. Do you remember that moment in the film version of The Princess Bride where the grandfather is trying to convince his stubborn grandson that the book he’s about to read is fantastic? He lures the kid […]

The best books lists are abundant and here! So very exciting, yes? I do love this time of year, and so it makes sense to begin with the cream of the crop. I refer, of course, to NYPL’s 100 Titles for Reading and Sharing 2012. Split into seven different categories (Picture Books, Folk and Fairy […]

Nathan Hale’s Hazardous Tales: One Dead Spy Nathan Hale’s Hazardous Tales: Big Bad Ironclad! By Nathan Hale Amulet (an imprint of Abrams) $12.95 ISBN: 978-1-419700396-6 ISBN: 978-1-4197-0395-9 Ages 9-12 On shelves now If you should find that you share your name with a Revolutionary War Hero you have various ways of making use of that […]

The Vengekeep Prophecies By Brian Farrey Illustrated by Brett Helquist Harper Collins $16.99 ISBN: 978-0-06-204928-5 Ages 9-12 On shelves now Let’s talk lazy fantasy writing. It exists. It’s out there. And when you find yourself reading some 30+ middle grade fantasies in a given year there are certain tropes and themes that appear so often […]

The Fantastic Jungles of Henri Rousseau By Michelle Markel Illustrated by Amanda Hall Eerdmans Books for Young Readers $17.00 ISBN: 978-0-8028-5264-6 Ages 4-8 On shelves now I’m not ashamed to say it, though perhaps I should be. Still, it’s true. Though I grew up in the middle class with a good education and a stint […]

Goblin Secrets By William Alexander Margaret K. McElderry Books (an imprint of Simon & Schuster) $16.99 ISBN: 978-1-442434523 Ages 9-12 On shelves now I think it is time to declare the birth of the clockwork children’s novel. If you have been watching the literary trends over the last decade or so, you will note that […]

Lester’s Dreadful Sweaters By K.G. Campbell Kids Can Press $16.95 ISBN: 978-1-55453-770-9 Ages 4-8 On shelves now When writing a picture book it can sometimes be a good idea to take a universal childhood annoyance and then build upon it in a satisfyingly ridiculous manner. And kids, let’s face it, are often annoyed. They have […]

All the Wrong Questions: “Who Could That Be at This Hour?” By Lemony Snicket Illustrated by Seth Little, Brown and Company $15.99 ISBN: 978-0-316-12308-2 Ages 9-12 On shelves October 24th Last year I was running a bookgroup for kids, ages 9-12, when the subject of children’s books adapted into films came up. We talked about […]

Creepy Carrots! By Aaron Reynolds Illustrated by Peter Brown Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers $16.99 ISBN: 978-1-4424-0297-3 Ages 4-8 On shelves now A children’s librarian is half media specialist, half psychic. It isn’t enough to have to know the books in your collection. You have to know what that pint-sized patron standing before […]

A Boy and a Bear in a Boat By Dave Shelton $16.99 ISBN: 978-0-385-75248-0 Ages 9 and up On shelves now First off, I like it. I think it’s important to make that note right upfront. Particularly since I’m probably going to break out terms like “bizarre”, “peculiar”, “odd”, “weird”, and “eerily strange” (or “strangely […]

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About A Fuse #8 Production

Features everything from librarian previews of upcoming children's books to news, reviews, and videos. If it has something to do with children's literature, it will rate a mention here.

Betsy Bird is the Youth Materials Specialist of New York Public Library. She's reviewed for The New York Times and Kirkus, writes articles for Horn Book and SLJ, and wrote the picture book Giant Dance Party. You can contact her at Fusenumber8@gmail.com or follow her on . . .